That is the motto of the A-10 Thunderbolt II, an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic for the United States Air Force to provide close air support of ground forces by attacking tanks, armored vehicles and other ground targets. It is the first U.S. Air Force aircraft designed exclusively for close air support. The A-10's official name comes from the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt of World War II, a fighter that was particularly effective at close air support. The A-10 is more commonly known by its nickname, "Warthog" or simply "Hog".

A-10s with full armament load outs

The attention grabbing primary weapon of the Hog is its 30 mm GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling gun. One of the most powerful aircraft cannon ever flown, it fires large depleted uranium armor-piercing shells at a rate of 3,900 rounds per minute. The gun is so precise that it can place 80% of its shots within a 40-foot circle from 4,000 feet while in flight. The fuselage of the aircraft is actually built around the gun, with the nose wheel offset to the right so that the gun's firing barrel, at the 9 o'clock position, is aligned on the aircraft'’s centerline.

30 mm GAU-8/A Avenger Gatling gun

The durability of the Hog is unmatched. Its strong airframe can survive direct hits from armor-piercing and high-explosive projectiles up to 23 mm. The aircraft has triple redundancy in its flight systems, with mechanical systems to back up double-redundant hydraulic systems. This permits pilots to fly and land when hydraulic power or part of a wing is lost. Flight without hydraulic power uses the manual reversion flight control system; this engages automatically for pitch and yaw control, and under pilot control (manual reversion switch) for roll control. In manual reversion mode, the A-10 is sufficiently controllable under favorable conditions to return to base and land, though control forces are much higher than normal. The aircraft is designed to fly with one engine, one tail, one elevator and half a wing torn off. Additionally, the main landing gear is designed so that the wheels semi-protrude from their nacelles when the gear is retracted so as to make gear-up landings (belly landing) easier to control and less damaging to the aircraft’s underside. A belly landing would be required in the case of a landing gear failure. Also, the A-10's landing gear are all hinged toward the rear of the aircraft, so if hydraulic power is lost the pilot can simply drop the gear and a combination of gravity and wind resistance will open and lock the gear in place. The cockpit and parts of the flight-control system are protected by 900 pounds of titanium armor, referred to as a titanium "bathtub". The front windscreen offers shielding resistant to 20 mm cannon fire.

Recent proof of the durability of the A-10 was shown when then-Captain Kim Campbell, USAF, flying a ground support mission over Baghdad during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, suffered extensive flak damage to her A-10. Enemy fire damaged one of the A-10's engines and crippled its hydraulic system, forcing the back-up mechanical system to operate the aircraft's stabilizer and flight controls. Despite this, Campbell managed to fly it for an hour and landed it safely at the air base in manual reversion mode.

Notable Features

This 49" A-10 Warthog model comes with some very nice and notable features. It is available in three different color schemes: a green camo scheme, a desert camo scheme and a Black Lightning scheme that is based on real A-10s from the 103rd Fighter Wing of the Connecticut Air National Guard. (They painted them this way in celebration of the Unit's 80th Anniversary in 2003.) The EDF systems are pre-installed, as are the mechanical retracts. The nose gear has a gear door cover that is nicely engineered, and it works very well. The two wing halves come with a carbon spar already glued into place, with a third center section carbon spar installed during the build providing supplemental strength and rigidity to the wing.

Three different color schemes ... pre-installed power systems

Three piece carbon wing spar ... pilot and cockpit

Twin 64mm EDFs ... pre-installed retracts and servos

Gear door cover on nose retract

Kit Contents

I find it commendable that JPower goes to great lengths to entomb each and every piece of the foam airframe in its very own sealed bubble wrap enclosure. I could find nary a scratch or dent in my airframe. The kit comes out of its wrapping in a series of modules that fit together snugly, thanks to their interlocking block and mortice style joints. The entire A-10 can be dry fit in a matter of seconds. All servos save the elevator servo came glued in on my A-10. I think the elevator servo is not glued in because it makes the entire elevator installation easier if you can remove the servo it to attach and center the elevator push rod. The three retracts are also installed at the factory.

Assembly

JPower includes a clear plastic sleeve that contains an assembly manual, a motor specification sheet, programming instructions for the JPower 30 amp speed controllers and a guide to using the LED light set. While not as comprehensive as some instruction manuals, the 14 page black and white photo-illustrated assembly manual does a good job of guiding the builder through the admittedly simple build process of this A-10. The 10 page ESC operations manual includes detailed descriptions of the ten different parameters that can be programmed, as well as specifications and a troubleshooting guide.

I used 5 minute epoxy for the majority of my build. Foam safe CA with accelerator was used in a step or two as well. Hot glue is my adhesive of choice for mounting servos and keeping the wiring neat and tidy. This model comes out of the box with most of the work already completed for you. All servos are installed, although the elevator servo on mine needed to be glued into the fuselage. The retracts are all installed at the factory as well. The basic components of the airframe go together by means of aligning blocks and slots cast into the foam. This helps insure a straight and square build.

Wing

Each individual wing half comes with a short carbon spar glued into place. The aileron servos and aileron control horns are both already attached to the wing halves. The aileron push rods are also installed at the factory. The aileron hinges are are created by the thin skin on top of the foam material. One of mine was torn a bit but I used a piece of Blenderm tape to repair the cut. Though I did not apply Blenderm to the entire aileron hinge line, I plan to carefully monitor the condition of these built in hinges and add reinforcing tape at any sign of wear.

An initial batch of five minute epoxy is mixed to join the wing halves, followed by both secondary and tertiary applications to completely fill any gaps in this critical joint. I keep alcohol and paper towels handy to wipe up any excess epoxy that oozes out where it ought not. Once the glue has dried, the main carbon wing spar can be pressed down into the slot. I used foam safe CA and accelerator to bond the spar in place.

Shallow channels are provided in the wing halves to route the servo leads to the fuselage. I like to untwist the leads so they lie as flat as possible in the grooves. Small dabs of hot glue help affix them permanently. An included servo Y cable joins the two ailerons, while the main gear retract servo connections will plug into the included 3 into 1 servo cable adapter.

Fuselage and Radio Installation

I fully intended to use a seven channel Spektrum AR7000 receiver on the A-10 so I would have the ability to put each retract on its own channel. When using mechanical retracts, I have found from experience that it is usually advantageous to do it this way so that the transmitter endpoint and throw adjustments can be used to optimally set up each individual gear so that there is no servo buzz at either end of their travel. I was a little upset to find that I did not have any extra AR7000 receivers available in my parts drawers for use in this model. What I did have was a six channel AR6200 receiver. Not wanting to remove an AR7000 from another plane in my hangar, I decided I would give the six channel receiver a go. JPower includes a 3-to-1 servo cable that connects all three gear retract servos to one channel.

I connected all three gears together and plugged it into my gear channel on the AR6200. I fully expected to find that one or two of the gear servos would buzz in this configuration but I was very pleasantly surprised to find that from gear up to gear down, all three servos were content and completely quiet. And all three gears were making their up and down locks as well! NICE!!!

Spektrum AR6200 Receiver Channel Configuration

Channel

Function

Notes

1

Throttle

Two ESCs connected via one connector

2

Ailerons

Two connected via Y-cable

3

Elevator

Single servo connection

4

Rudder

Nose gear steering

5

Gear

Three servos connected via 3-to-1 cable

6

Not used

The elevator servo does not come pre-glued into place. This facilitates removing it from the fuselage so that the push rod Z-bend can be easily installed through the servo horn. I used hot glue to bond the servo into its position inside the rear of the fuselage.

Tail

When assembling the tail section, a couple of cautions are in order. Do not accidentally glue the horizontal stabilizer and elevator on upside down. The control horn comes out of the box pre-installed and should end up being on the top and right side of the aircraft when viewed from the rear. The elevator push rod will exit the aircraft through a small hole on the right side of the A-10 and should come across the top of elevator. It is also important to avoid getting any epoxy near the elevator joiner rod when gluing the the elevator to the rear fuselage tail cone piece.

When gluing the two vertical stabilizers to the horizontal stabilizer, take a little extra time to ensure that they are perfectly perpendicular. Unlike the rest of the joints on the model, these two joints do not fit very snugly. I used five minute epoxy and glued one of them on at a time. Once the four pieces making up the tail section have all been attached to one another, the entire assembly can be epoxied to the rear of the fuselage.

Power Systems

Motor Specs

The twin 64mm EDFs come pre-assembled and pre-installed in the A-10 engine nacelles module. I call it a module because it is a self-contained section of the airframe that mounts to the fuselage in much the same fashion as the wing does. A foam "tongue" on the front of it slides into a recess on the fuselage, while the rear of it is anchored with a pair of screws. JPower includes a pair of round plastic bushings that function as washers in that they distribute the load of the engine nacelles module retaining screws. The same method is employed on the wing hold down fasteners. I like it. What this means is that the entire model can be broken down into a smaller package by removing the wing and power systems. Also, should you need to service the fans or motors, the entire assembly can be removed from the fuselage for ease of access. The instruction manual includes directions for cutting the nacelles apart should you need to get to the fan or motor.

The three connections for the motor leads exit the nacelles through a small slot on the inner side of each unit. I used hot glue to neatly anchor the twin speed controllers on the tongue of the power system module. They need to be positioned back from the leading edge of this piece so that they do not interfere with the tongue sliding into the fuselage. Speed controllers like to be out in the air flow for optimal cooling. As I was assembling this part of the model, I found myself thinking about whether the ESCs would get very much air flow mounted in this position. Since there are no holes cut in the rear of the fuselage, my conclusion is that they really do not get substantial cooling air to them. I decided to go ahead with the installation as started, with a mental note to myself to possibly rethink this decision based on the results of measured current draw of the power systems.

The speed controllers come completely prewired. Both sets of battery supply leads are soldered together to one Deans style connector, while both receiver control signal leads come joined together into one single receiver connector. When running a pair of speed controllers in parallel like this, it is common to disable one of the two ESC BEC circuits by removing its red wire from the receiver connector. Another consideration involves whether the BEC circuitry built into the speed controller can properly supply the current required by a model with a quantity of 9 gram class servos (7 total) like this A-10. I checked with the manufacturer on both of these items and was assured they had tested the model exactly as configured and that it would be fine.

Completion

A little bit of epoxy here and there, a few pieces attached together with screws and suddenly you have a cool looking A-10 Warthog EDF sitting in front of you! I was amazed at how quickly and how easily this model went together. There are no decals to be applied, as they come from the factory already in place. I was a little dismayed, however, when one RCGroups user pointed out that one of the stars and bars decals on the fuselage was applied upside down by the factory.

The JPower A-10 comes with a set of armament and a mock up of the big Gatling gun included in the box. Indentations are provided under the wings for these missiles and bombs to get glued into. I first tried foam safe CA but found that they would pop off too easily. I then reglued them with epoxy. I used some white electrical tape and red pin striping tape to give the weapons a slightly more authentic look. I cut small pieces of solder and inserted them into the end of the gun barrel to simulate its seven protruding barrels. A little brown paint dulled them down to a believable color. Thought these included armaments are very rudimentary in appearance, I personally think they add a peculiar panache to the A-10.

Completion of a model involves going over it looking for any missed details. I would like to see JPower include some sort of push rod clevis locking device in the box. Most of us are accustomed to securing our clevises with a small piece of fuel tubing. Since none were provided, I used small pieces of clear heat shrink to lock the clevises in the closed position.

No control surface throw recommendations are provided in the instruction manual. I programmed the throws on the ailerons and elevator for about a 1/4 inch of deflection up and down on low rates, while the high rate throws were set for what appeared to be the maximum amount of throw these surfaces could safely and reasonably achieve. Exponential was set at 40% on both high and low rates. The hinge material used on these surfaces is nothing more than the "skin" of the EPO foam. I have flown other models with a similar configuration and experienced no problems. Checking the condition of these hinges before you start each flying session is probably a good idea. Time and accidental impacts can cause them to tear a little. The repair is as easy as using a length of Blenderm tape to strengthen or repair the hinge joint if necessary. The nose steering (rudder) programming involves setting up a low rate throw for takeoffs and landings, with little to no exponential used and a high rate setting with a tighter turning radius for easier ground handling.

CG is 65mm back from leading edge of wing, at wing root

The battery compartment, located under the removable canopy/cockpit hatch, is fairly spacious. I am accustomed to putting the battery all the way forward on most of my EDF models but this is not the case on the JPower A-10. The 3S 3600mAH battery needs to be positioned to the rear of the compartment to hit the proper CG. I used a little hook and loop material to secure it in place. There is a foam battery retaining "bracket" of sorts to the rear of the battery area that somewhat captures the rear of the battery. The canopy, when in place, has a large wedge shaped piece of foam on its bottom that also prohibits the battery from moving while in flight.

All-Up-Weight = 45 ounces

LETS FLY!!!

Flying

Ever since I saw a real A-10 perform at a local airshow, I have been wanting a radio controlled model of A-10. Though there have been a few different kits readily available for a number years, I have not found the time to build one. Anybody who has ever seen one fly a demonstration will tell you that it flies low and loud, capably demonstrating its primary objective of supporting ground troops and taking out any hostile threats endangering them. It is definitely not the fastest military jet to have flown but it may be the most fear inspiring to those unfortunate to be the target of its 30mm cannon. So, how should a model of an A-10 fly?

Basics

I normally use my DX7’s countdown timer. For most EDF maiden flights, I typically start out with a very conservative four minute countdown timer. I like to use the initial flight to get the model aloft, trim her out, check her slow speed performance and stall behavior after climbing a few mistakes high, fly a hot pass or two and then get her back down. I maidened the A-10 at an old WWII abandoned airstrip in Santa Rosa, CA. It is a great place to fly EDFs, although the neglect has caused the expansion cracks in the concrete to be, well, expansive. If your gear can stand the bumps and debris, you are rewarded with an abundance of space to get her up and down, with no pressure from having to thread the needle by landing on a smaller club sized runway. I logged a total of five flights on my first outing with the JPower A-10. Mine required but a click or two of trim on both the elevator and ailerons, and she was flying hands off. I had a feeling it was going to be good but I was wrong .. it was GREAT!

Taking Off and Landing

The 450 watts or so of output power provided by the twin JPower 64mm EDFs does a good job of motivating the A-10 to Vr. The rollout is not as short as some of my other EDFs but they tend to be almost overpowered, by choice. I like the way the JPower A-10 will break free from the ground with a deft touch on the elevator. If you pull too hard on the elevator, it will suddenly release and jump skyward in a very non-scale fashion. Let it build a reasonable amount of momentum, and scale looking takeoffs will be much easier to achieve.

When it is time to land, I like to fly a gear pass and do a visual that all three gears are down and locked. The A-10 slows nicely, and I have been amazed at just how slowly it will fly on the landing approach. I like to go to low rates for the landings and find that the elevator sensitivity is just about perfect. My best landings have occurred when I come down the glide slope with about 3-4 clicks of throttle applied. I hold this throttle setting all the way in, unless I am high, in which case I will drop a click or two to scrub a little altitude. Once in ground effect, a small application of up elevator will slow the A-10 the final amount necessary to let her softly reconnect with the runway. The factory components combine to create a EDF that has a nice, scale amount of power on tap and a very light wing loading. This translates into a plane that is very docile to land.

Can the JPower A-10 be flown from a grass runway? Sure! Just make sure you stop the golfers coming down the fairway first! Seriously, I would not attempt to fly the A-10 from any surfaces other than pavement, hard pack or a gravel track such as in the video below. The included wheels are just a bit too small for grass in my opinion. I am very impressed with the included mechanical retracts. They have been functioning very nicely and the sight of the A-10 coming in low and fast with no gear in sight is just too cool!

Flight Performance

Down low, yanking and banking, turning and burning ... that is what a real A-10 does. And to JPower’s credit, their A-10 does all of that and then some. In just a few flights, I was very comfortable dropping below 15 or even 10 feet and standing the A-10 on its wingtip while I used the elevator to horse it through turns and figure eights. I kept expecting it to fall off on the wing but it just held its line though the turn and kept going. I will again say that the relatively light wing loading makes for a plane that is very well behaved, with no tendencies to bite the pilot noted.

My typical flight is a mix of both WOT flying and slower passes mixed together. As such, the 3S 3600 has not once come out of the A-10 with much more than a noticeable warmth to it. As the Eagle Tree data charts show below, the stock JPower EDFs are good for around 450 watts at around 43 amps. With my flights running between 4 and 5 minutes in duration, I have typically put about 1800-2000mAH back into the flight batteries. What this ultimately means is that I can safely extend my flight durations to upwards of six minutes if I maintain my usual style of flying, or I can push the left stick forward and leave it there for the duration of a four minute flight. The Eagle Tree data also served to allay most of my concerns about the speed controllers being mounted inside the fuselage and out of the cooling airflow. The included JPower ESCs are rated at 30 amps and it would appear that even at WOT they are only having to produce around 20-22 amps each.

The JPower A-10 does not have rudders. The nose gear steering is the sole device plugged into the receiver rudder channel. I suppose it would be possible to bash rudders into the airframe but it would either require a pair of servos to control the dual rudders, or a single servo with an unsightly push rod connecting the two rudders. Having said that, aerobatics are thus limited to those maneuvers which can be flown with ailerons and elevator. Aileron rolls are attractively axial, although even high rate aileron control does not render them excessively fast. Loops are possible with either a very slight diving entry or with an extended WOT speed run that eases into one. Inverted flight is best done with the elevator on high rates. Inevitably, the people will want to stuff hotter power systems into the amply sized nacelles. The A-10 is a fairly draggy air frame, and I am curious as to how any increases in power will translate into improved performance. The fact that an Airframe Only version is also available means that many will want to experiment with putting more power in the A-10. (Myself included!) I would caution that adding too much power or too much weight will probably require some additional bracing or carbon reinforcing to stiffen up what I perceive to be a purposely designed light airframe. Remember, in electric aircraft, lighter IS always better!

I really get a kick out of flying this A-10 low and fast, with a hard entry into a low level turn or a hard pull up to trade speed for altitude. This A-10 just looks so good flying around just as a real A-10 would.

Is This For a Beginner?

No beginner ever wants to start with a high wing trainer. Most want a cool looking war bird. And due to the current popularity and affordability of EDFs, it is only too common for beginners to convince themselves that they can probably handle one for their first radio controlled plane. Could this JPower A-10 serve as an entry level plane for a rank beginner? I very much want to say yes, but in all honesty, this one would probably best be saved for a pilot who has a plane or two under his belt. Factors that contribute to this one being a good possibility for a beginner are that it is not very fast as far as EDFs go. I would guesstimate the top speed to be in the 60 MPH range. Its light wing loading means it is a very well behaved aircraft, both in flight and during the absolute hardest maneuver for most beginners, the landing. If you have a RC mentor or brother or sister who can assist you in getting a half dozen or so flights logged on this A-10, then you may be within your right mind in considering this for an entry level EDF.

Flight Video/Photo Gallery

Please enjoy these photos of the JPower A-10 Warthog, taken at several of my favorite flying locations in Sonoma County, California

Downloads

Conclusion

As the 2009 flying season comes to a close, I look back over the year in reflection and realize that I have had the privilege to review a wide assortment of planes. Though each and every one of them was an exciting and fun project, I must confess that this A-10 has made me yearn to get back out to the flying field for a few more flights ... again and again and again. It has me grinning ear to ear! The included electronics seem to be of good quality and I have experienced no problems with any of the servos, the retracts or the twin EDF power systems. The JPower motors and fans offer up pleasing performance that helps this A-10 look quite scale in the air. Everybody that I have let have a turn at the sticks has loved it. One local flyer, known for his turbine equipped jets and an envious collection of incredible scale helicopters, enthusiastically remarked after flying one battery through it that he just had to have one!

Though I am curious in seeing how this particular airframe will do with just a bit more power, I encourage anyone who loves the A-10 Warthog to give this one a serious look. It builds quickly, flies soundly and looks every bit the part of a real A-10 coming in low for a little tank busting!

Positives:

Light wing loading and modest power system combine to create well behaved and exciting A-10 Warthog

Factory installed mechanical retracts are sturdy and function perfectly on one radio channel, with absolutely no servo buzzing experienced

I have been wanting to order one of these for months but I have heard so many bad things about bananahobby.com that I am ver nervous about placing an order. Does anyone have anything good to say about bananahobby.com? What is the general thought about this dristributer? I tried calling them once during there posted business hours and no one answered... definately not a good sign to me. I don't know about anyone else but, I will not order anything from anyone with out talking to a live human on the phone first. I want to know where my money is going and that there is a person to talk to incase things go wrong.

Been waiting for this review Jon, and like all your others, this one did not disappoint. Thanks! I too, must ask the question... are there any other distributors for JPower besides Banana Hobby? I got my JPower AMX from Hobby Lobby but I don't think they sell JPower aircraft anymore. The AMX (and several other JPower planes) are available from Esprit Model but I didn't see the A-10.

The video didn't work for me either, even after dropping the "/" at the end. What kind of program plays *.ogv video files?

Jon,
Nice straight forward review. Thank you. Mine is almost ready to fly. Easy, fun assembly. Like some I had some trepidation about ordering from Banana Hobby but mine came through no problem. I changed the color I wanted and Oscar from the warehouse called around 7:30PM EST to verify that I wanted the Black Lightning, a thoughtful touch on his part. I think Pete and crew are trying very hard to make things go smoothly. Now I need a little more of the snow to melt so I can do my maiden flight...
Gary